UF women in second place at NCAA Outdoor Championships

EUGENE, Ore. – Florida’s women scored 17 points Thursday, highlighted by senior Darrielle McQueen’s second-place finish in the long jump, and ended their first day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships At Heyward Field in second place.

McQueen entered her third attempt in 14th place, needing a big jump to make the final. She got herself to fourth with the third attempt, then leapt all the way to 6.61 meters (21 feet, 8.25 inches) and took the lead in the fourth round. The Tallahassee native slipped to second after eventual winner Keturah Orji passed her by seven centimeters to end the same round.

Junior Yanis Davidcollected five points in the long jump, finishing fourth. Her top mark of 6.51 meters (21 feet, 4.25 inches) came in the second round and briefly put her in second place.

McQueen’s silver medal matches Dionne Rose (1992) for the best finish in school history. David and McQueen remain the only Florida duo to score at NCAA Outdoors in the same year, a feat they achieved in 2016 as well.

Sixth-year senior javelin thrower Avione Allgood took sixth, while senior Lloydricia Cameronsettled for eighth place in the shot put. The two combined for four points.

On the track, junior quarter-miler Sharrika Barnett became the first Gator since Tiandra Ponteen (2004-05), and the fourth woman in school history to qualify for consecutive 400 meters finals. Barnett finished fifth in last year’s final.

Freshman Nikkie Stephens, who transitioned from the multis to the 400-meter hurdles midway through the outdoor season, took second in her heat and nabbed an automatic qualifying spot for Saturday’s final.

Barnett and Stephens both came back and teamed with freshman Taylor Manson and senior Taylor Sharpeto get Florida’s 4×400 relay squad back to the final. The Gators advanced automatically with their second-place finish in Heat 2.

ESPN will continue to provide live television and streaming coverage for the remaining two days of competition, including standalone streams dedicated to field events. A full listing of live broadcast windows, field event streams, and the Gators’ competition schedule are all below.